Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention instantly catapulted him into the national spotlight and led to his election four years later as America's first African-American president. Garrow has created a vivid portrait that reveals not only the people and forces that shaped the future president but also the ways in which he used those influences to serve his larger aspirations.

The end of the world as they knew it: Chicago's far South Side, March 1980 -- July 1985 -- A place in the world: Honolulu, Seattle, Honolulu, Jakarta, and Honolulu, August 1961 -- September 1979 -- Searching for home: Eagle Rock, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Hermitage, PA, September 1979 -- July 1985 -- Transformation and identity: Roseland, Hyde Park, and Kenya: August 1985 -- August 1988 -- Emergence and achievement: Harvard Law School, September 1988 -- May 1991 -- Building a future: Chicago, June 1991 -- August 1995 -- Into the Arena: Chicago and Springfield, September 1995 -- September 1999 -- Failure and recovery: Chicago and Springfield, October 1999 -- January 2003 -- Calculation, coincidence, coronation: Illinois and Boston, January 2003 -- November 2004 -- Disappointment and destiny: the U.S. Senate, November 2004 -- February 2007 -- Epilogue: the President did not attend, as he was golfing.